What can Lchaim learn from Oreos?

When i look for inspiration, i often look at Oreos. In early 1990s, Oreos spend millions of dollars to blowtorch the heck out of its plants to get Kosher certification. You see before going Kosher, Oreo’s secret sauce was pig lard, so a blowtorch had to be applied to every plant to nuke out the lard.

Besides the incredible financial sacrifice that Oreos took on to become and remain Kosher, i was moved by the fact that they focused on being a great, affordable product first, and Kosher second. This is a key to Kosher thriving; we need to focus on quality first. What frustrates me so much about the “Kosher” scene- is that often it is only about being Kosher.

I was recently called by a local Tech company inquiring about a going away party for a Kosher employee. The office manager requested a Kosher meal for the specific employee, while assuring me that the other 100 employees will be totally satisfied ordering in from the local Panda Express. I get these call all the time, and my response is legendary.

I always reply that we are not a Kosher catering company– Ofcourse, this is shocking to the office manager who is totally confused. A name like Lchaim, all the articles about Kosher thought leadership, and an ordained rabbi who founded the company don’t equate to Lchaim being Treif (Unkosher). I immediately clarify, we are an excellent, affordable food company that stresses cultural sensitivity by being Kosher. Lets learn from Oreos, and make a great product that is affordable and also stresses cultural inclusivity.

This is one of the reasons why Kosher certification in food manufacturing is booming with over 40% of new products being certified Kosher. Their focus is on first and foremost making a product people would love, and then adding the extra value that Kosher can bring. This is why in my eyes, the most important metrics of my businesses success is the number of Non Jewish clients we service.

Takeaways:

This is a key to Kosher thriving; we need to focus on quality first. What frustrates me so much about the “Kosher” scene- is that often it is only about being Kosher.

I always reply that we are not a Kosher catering company… we are an excellent, affordable food company that stresses cultural sensitivity by being Kosher

This is why in my eyes, the most important metrics of my businesses success is the number of Non Jewish clients we service.

Alex Shandrovsky is a Silicon Valley based ordained Rabbi and founder of Lchaim Foods. He is an advisor for Indiebio, the world's largest biotech accelerator, where he educates start ups about the value of Kosher in the modern world.
His work has been covered by international press including Haaretz, San Francisco Chronicle and Newsweek. A powerful speaker, he has lectured in leading universities including Stanford ,and Singularity University.